First Team

Leverkusen stalemate

The Wolves and Bayer Leverkusen played out a goalless draw on Sunday.

VfL-Wolfsburg-Spieler Micky van de Ven im Zweikampf mit einem Gegenspieler.

VfL Wolfsburg played out their tenth draw of the current Bundesliga campaign on Sunday evening, playing out a 0-0 stalemate at home to Bayer Leverkusen in the final game of Matchday 28. The 20,137 fans at the Volkswagen Arena had little to shout about in a first half of few opportunities, but both teams created chances to claim all three points after the interval. However, neither side could find a way past the opposing goalkeeper.

The Wolves stay ninth in the table, four points behind Leverkusen in sixth.

Personnel

Ridle Baku and Patrick Wimmer were back in the squad following suspension, but head coach Niko Kovac had to make do without Kilian Fischer (infection) and Maximilian Arnold (stomach upset). There were three changes from the side that lost to Borussia Mönchengladbach as Sebastiaan Bornauw, Josuha Guilavogui and Jonas Wind replaced Maxence Lacroix, Arnold and Fischer.

Coaches’ reaction

Niko Kovac: “It was a tight game with solid defences. We tried to stop our opponents from using their pace in the game, and for the most part we succeeded. We had two or three good shooting opportunities ourselves, but they weren’t particularly dangerous. Koen [Casteels] pulled off two really good saves towards the end. At the end of the day, we’re happy with the point. Playing against Leverkusen isn’t easy at the moment. We can live with the result.”

Xabi Alonso: “The first half was very tight. In the second we gained a bit more control and were able to create a number of scoring opportunities, but we also got caught on the counterattack twice. If you can’t win, you shouldn’t lose – that’s why a draw is OK for us.”

Line-ups and stats

VfL Wolfsburg: Casteels – Bornauw, Guilavogui, van de Ven – Kaminski, F. Nmecha, Gerhardt (79‘ Baku), Otavio (54‘ Paredes/79‘ Lacroix) – Svanberg, Marmoush (70‘ Wimmer) – Wind

Subs: Pervan (GK), Cozza, Ambros, Pejcinovic, Waldschmidt

Bayer Leverkusen: Hradecky – Kossounou, Andrich, Tapsoba – Frimpong, Amiri (78‘ Tah), Demirbay, Hincapie – Diaby, Azmoun (62‘ Wirtz), Hlozek (78‘ Adli)

Subs: Pentz (GK), Bakker, Fosu-Mensah, Sinkgraven, Bellarabi, Hudson-Odoi

Yellow cards: – / Amiri, Hincapie, Kossounou, Wirtz

Referee: Sascha Stegemann (Niederkassel)

Attendance: 20,137 at Volkswagen Arena